"With those who do not give a damn about baseball, I can only sympathize. I do not resent them. I am even willing to concede that many of them are physically clean, good to their mothers, and in favor of world peace. But while the game is on, I can't think of anything to say to them."

CYC: So, you heard Damon's gone.Laur: Yeah, to the Tigers or something, right?CYC: I feel bad for him, he seemed like a good guy.Laur: Detroit's not so bad, it gets a bad rap. It could be worse. It could've been Kansas City or something.CYC: You know he played for them originally, right?Laur: He did?CYC: And I think he's from there, too.Laur: Oh. Well, then maybe KC wasn't a good example.

From ESPN.com

Johnny Damon has agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with the Detroit Tigers.

The 36-year-old Damon hit .286 with 24 homers for the New York Yankees last season. He likely would bat leadoff for the Tigers, filling the void left when Detroit dealt Curtis Granderson to the Yankees.

Part of me feels really bad for Damon. The other part of me is thrilled the Damon watercooler talk is finally seeing its long overdue denouement.

Ok. He's gone. He was dealt to another team. We got Granderson. They got Damon. No harm, no foul. I'm pretty sure the Yankees will live to survive this. Besides, it's not like Detroit's a bad team. Sometimes their Detroitness eclipses the reality they're actually decent. It's like the Lions and city itself are such a wreck that I forget about the Red Wings and potential-laden Tiggers.

I don't know, I know I spent 4 years spitting vitriol at the guy when he was in Beantown, but then after the initial shock of hearing his name incorporated into the RF bleachers' roll call wore off, I really started to like the guy. Those little anecdotal blurbs that run across the screen a la Little League World Series style more often than not had me unduly impressed with him.

So in honor of Damon leaving the Yankees and heading for greener pastures in Michigan--btw I just had to google Detroit to find out what state it's in--here's my list of Reasons I'll Miss Damon That Have Little to Nothing at All to Do With His Value as a LFer on the Yankees.

1.) On August 8, 2001, in a game in Oakland against the Red Sox, Damon hit a liner down the right field lines and the ball rolled into a beer cup.

I read this, I read "Beer Pong." Any player who understands the importance of sinking a ball into a beer cup is a player after my own heart. (Speaking of, I think I spent as many hours playing beer pong this weekend as I did studying for my English Comprehensive Capstone Exam in college.)

Damon spoke out about the A-Fraud comments in Joe Torre's book. On hand for the 29th annual Thurman Munson awards, Damon is quoted in today's New York Post as saying:

"[A-Rod] is just a great guy who works harder than anybody," Damon added. "Alex is one of the greatest players ever, and I would put my odds on him to win another MVP this year."

Damon later added that he has no intention of reading Joe Torre's book.

3.) He never takes shots at anyone.

We always lionize Jeter for being one of the classiest guys in the game, and he undoubtedly is, but so is Damon.

4.) When he became a Yankee, he became a Yankee.

Think about it. Think about that moment in December when you first heard that Damon was going to be wearing pinstripes. And you're lying if you claim you were excited.

I remember being at home playing Scattegories and getting a text message from my sister's boyfriend, "Welcome to the Yankees, Damon." I was sputtering and spitting and throwing the 20-faced die around with aggressive abandon.

Johnny Damon was born in Fort Riley, Kansas. His father was a staff sergeant in the United States Army, stationed in Thailand. Damon, born at Ft. Riley, an Army base in Kansas, spent much of his early childhood as an “Army bright” moving to several bases from Okinawa, Japan, to West Germany, before his father left the Army and settled the family in Orlando, Florida, during Damon’s preschool years.

Probably one of the main reasons Ted Williams is my favorite player of all time is because he left his superior career as a baseball legend to fight for his country. Damon didn't exactly go that far, but his respect for patriotism is evident.

******

So there's that. Damon is gone. Farewell, soldier. You'll be missed. The rampant Damon speculation game will not be.

As for Park fitting into an already full bullpen, Cashman said, "The more, the merrier. You can never have enough."

HAHAHAHHHAHA. The more, the merrier?? That's the philosophy guiding the bullpen construction? Awesome. Cash has been hanging with Swish too much.

Coming up...

My "bold predictions" for the coming season. And I may be playing it a little fast and loose with the term "bold." But "Gamut of Outlandish to Conservative Conjectures" didn't roll off the proverbial tongue as well.